Jenn and I began attacking our debt in December 2002 and quickly eliminated all of our non-house debt in just fourteen months. It was so exciting to see the debts leave our monthly bill pile. The truck payment, student loan payment and the credit card payment were eliminated, and it was awesome!

There was one debt remaining, however, and it was huge. It was our wonderful home mortgage. After seeing our other debts disappear so swiftly, the home mortgage felt like we were attempting to eat an elephant. We could send in $1,000, and it did not even seem to make a dent in the amount we owed. Ever been there?

I am not sure how you are, but if I do not see progress being made with something, it becomes very difficult for me to stick to that particular effort. I was disappointed with our progress until my bride came up with a fantastic idea for tracking our mortgage pay-off progress. We call it our “Sangl Family Home Pay-Off Spectacular.”

Here is how it works. I created an outline of our house on the computer. Then I filled up the house outline with a bunch of squares. They are not square feet, just squares. I added up the number of squares and divided them into what I paid for the house. I know that every single square equals $72.14. When we pay off $72.14 in mortgage principal, we get to color in a square! Yes! It is so exciting.

When one is attempting to eat an elephant it is recommended that one eat it one bite at a time. That is exactly what the Sangl Family Home Pay-Off Spectacular is all about — focusing on paying off our house one square at a time.

When I shared this idea on my Web site, JosephSangl.com, this entire idea went out of control. There are now “Pay-Off Spectaculars” for paying off credit cards, vans, trucks, cars, boats, lawn mowers, TVs and even a llama! A llama! If you have financed a llama, it might be a sign that your financial direction has soured.

This idea can also be reversed. There are “Savings Spectaculars” too. For those who have said that they are through with debt and are going to pay cash for items from now on, this is a great way to track progress. Some of the “Savings Spectaculars” include cruises, a new vehicle, a new grill and a new roof.

What do you want to focus on paying off or saving for? A “spectacular” visual tracking tool can be just the ticket to help you stick to your plan.

There are more than 30 “spectaculars” located on the “Tools” page at JosephSangl.com.